I have had some requests for the names of the plants that I used in the fairy garden barrels. I finally found the plant tags. I might not have all of them, but I have most of them.

Some of the photos aren’t as clear and sharp as I would like them, but the conditions were not ideal for the photo taking.

Baby’s Breath

White Baby’s Breath (Gypsophila “White Festival”)– A mounding perennial…I had this plant in the second fairy garden toward the back.

Creeping Thyme

Creeping Thyme (Thymus serpyllum) – A perennial…I had this in front of the fairy house in the first fairy garden and around the general store in the second fairy garden. It makes a beautiful carpet of ground cover with tiny purple flowers.

Miniature Rush

Miniature Rush (Eleocharis radicans) – A perennial…These were in the third garden around the lake. They look like clumps of grass. They do require quite a bit of water. They did not come back this year. We had a rather dry winter.

Potentilla

Potentilla (Cinguefoil “Verna Nana”) – A perennial…this is a low-growing evergreen with lots of yellow flowers. It looks just like the full sized plant that a lot of us have in our landscaping. I had this plant behind the fairy house in the garden of the first fairy garden.

Needlepoint Ivy

Mini Needlepoint Ivy (Hedera) – this is an evergreen plant. I had it planted right behind the house in the first fairy garden. I was hoping to train it to grow up the house and over the porch. I am not seeing this year. The winter must have gotten it.

White Thrift

Thrift (Armeria maritima ‘Alba’ white) – This is also known as Sea Pink. The plant is a mound of grass-like green leaves with tiny white flowers. This plant was also in the first barrel behind the house in the fairy garden’s garden area.

Hummingbird Trumpet Vine

Hummingbird Trumpet (Zauschineria garettii ‘Orange Carpet’) – This plant looks just like a miniature version of a Trumpet Vine and is a perrenial. I had that in the fourth fairy garden to the right of the rocky waterfall.

Stonecrop

Stonecrop (Sedum hispanicum minus ‘Blue Carpet’) – This plant nakes a great ground cover. It spreads quickly. This is a succulent with silver-gray foliage and tiny pale pink flowers. I had it planted to the left of the fairy house in the first fairy garden.

Speedwell

Speedwell (Veronica liwanensis) – This is another low-growing ground cover. Bright flowers appear on the leathery leaves. I had one of these in the first garden and in the third. It is very drought tolerant.

Coral Bells

Sandia Coral Bells (Heuchera pulchella) – An evergreen with ruffled green leaves and spikes of tiny rose-pink bells. This was also in the garden behind the fair house in the first fairy garden. There was also one on the side of the second fairy garden house.

Pink Cranesbill

Dalmation Pink Cranesbill (Geranium dalmaticum) – A low-growing geranium with glossy green leaves with pink flowers. I think there was one of these in the garden of the first fairy garden and also one in the third garden on the side of the house.

Bellflower

Bellflower (Campanula cochleariifolia ‘Alpine Breeze Blue’) – lots of blue flowers that cover the plant. This is very pretty. I think there was one of these in the first garden in the back and also one in the third garden on the side of the cottage.

Leptinella

Leptinella (‘Platt’s Black’) – an evergreen ground cover with feathery, fern-like, foliage. I am very fond of this plant, but it didn’t make it through the winter. I had these in the first and second garden next to the covered bridge.

I hope this helps. The balance of the four gardens were filled with a mix of ground cover. It came in flats from Lowe’s. That is really an economical way to fill the barrels with plants. The fir trees are actually fake miniature Christmas trees from the hobby store.

If I remembered the plants in the wrong places, I apologize. The ground covers have really grown a lot and I never got my gardens put back together this year because of my foot and ankle injuries. I miss the gardens, but am enjoying the plants that survived. I will be putting the gardens up next spring for sure.

I’m so glad that you came back! It’s time for a trip to barrel number two. Let me take you on a tour. If you have any questions along the way, let me know. The pictures will enlarge if you click on them so that you can see the details more clearly.

This fairy garden reminds me of a small resort town where I grew up every summer in Wisconsin. I remember a general store and a lot of trails, boat rentals, bait and tackle shops, etc. It brings back fond memories.

Look at the Baby’s Breath go! It was a good thing to give it a major haircut!

Barrels one and two are connected by a covered bridge. That was one of my husband’s ideas. He is really helping a bunch with these gardens. I think he secretly thinks they are pretty neat. I went online and viola! Found a covered bridge. It fits perfectly over the two barrel edges. Now the fairies can walk to town.

In town there is a general store. I had to put a pickle barrel outside the store. I remember one being at the store in my resort town.

Behind the general store is a nature trail to enjoy. I had two Baby’s Breath plants that I couldn’t seem to find a place for in my big gardens so I planted them in the barrel. I kept having second thoughts because they were quite big. I finally just took a shears and trimmed them way down. Today I noticed that they are starting to flower. They are perfect! I am glad I left them there.

This fairy just went for a walk on the trail behind her. There is a sign right in front of her that points to the trail.

A bait and tackle shop and a boat rental are also behind the store near the next barrel. You will see why I needed those. My husband added the fishing poles. One has a big fish on it! I think that is wishful thinking on his part!

I also made a peace pole for the garden. I just learned about peace poles. I think they are fabulous…but they are very expensive if you buy them already made. My next big project is making a real peace pole for my big garden. I have the pole and the paint. I am anxious to get started. I will cover that in a later post.

In front of the store is a sign with arrows, as you can see in the picture above. One arrow says nature trails, one says lake, and one says campground. Oh no! I need more barrels! Golly!!!!! My husband, Glenn, groaned and shook his head. The way I see it is that if there is a sign pointing somewhere saying there is something there, it needs to really be there…right?????? I have provided the nature trail in this barrel. So far…so good…I’m doing great.

Next to the store is a white sign that is for human visitors to read. I get silly sometimes, but thought it would be cute. I went online and researched fairy lore and found that elderberry wine helps humans to see fairies when the humans drink it. That is fun! I also found that if humans sprinkle fairy dust on themselves, it will enable them to fly like the fairies. I don’t know if this is all true folklore, but thought I’d believe it. I made the sign and then found some tiny bottles in my jewelry supplies. I filled some with different colored glitters to represent fairy dust. I found some bottles that looked kind of like wine bottles and filled them with resin colored with a wine-colored paint. It worked! I glued the corks on each bottle…humans can still open them, but hopefully the raccoons and squirrels can’t.

Now for the prize addition to the garden…I made the mosaic road that surrounds the general store and takes you through the town. It was a labor of love. Since mine is outside, I had to make some changes. I would be happy to share those changes if you would like…just ask. I think it is fabulous. What fun! It took several days of tedious work, but I was so excited to see it actually in the garden with plants all around it. It worked!

The rock in the picture below is a special one. It came from an Amethyst mine in Colorado. Glenn and I go rockhounding and had been invited to the mine for a dig. It was awesome! There isn’t much value in this rock, but it is fun to have and look at.

So there you have it…the tour of my second barrel. Hope you enjoyed the tour! What do you suppose will be next???? Be sure to check back and see.

The Naja Tool and Supply
This is a fabulous store. They carry almost anything you can think of needing for making jewelry. I have never met friendlier people. There is a jewelry making school next door that teaches everything you would ever want to learn about jewelry.